Crutch gauge



2 SHEETSSHEET 2 L. J. ZADROZNY CRUTCH GAUGE Oct. 21, 1952 Filed April 25, 1951 IN V EN TOR. L uc/H/v J: Z fiDPo z/v Y Patented Oct. 21, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,614,332 1 l CRU'ICH GAUGE Lucian J. Zadrozny, New Britain, Conn. Application April 25, 1951, Serial No. 222,809 4. Claims. (01. 33 174) This invention relates to a crutch gage and more particularly to a device for accurately fitting crutches to persons.

An object of this invention is to provide a crutch gage which may be readily adjusted to a person, so as to determine the most comfortable length and position of the crutch handle, and which may be actually used by the person until the most comfortable length and position of the crutch has been definitely determined.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a gage which, when finally adjusted, will indicate the accurate length of the crutch and the position of the handle, so that a conventional crutch may be modified to correspond with the indications given by the gage.

A still further and important advantage of my invention is the provision of a goniometer in combination with said gage for accurately determining the theoretical position of the crutch handle which corresponds to the arm measurements of the person to which the crutch gage is fitted.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearly understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of my improved crutch gage with parts thereof broken away.

' Fig. 2 is a side view of said crutch gage.

Fig. 3 is a sectional end view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 41s a sectional side view of a portion of the crutch gage.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the crutch gage in adjusted position.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional side view of the goniometer on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the crutch gage on a reduced scale and showing the same adjusted for a different length and handle position.

In the embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in the drawings, my improved crutch gage comprises a frame 5 having a dove-tailed guideway 6 in which there is slidably mounted a slide bar I which carries the crosspiece 8 at the upper end thereof. The lower end of the frame 5 has secured thereto a connecting member 9 to on which includes a U-shap'ed bracket I2 that is slidably adjustable on the said slide bar I. This bracket has projections I3 on the base thereof which extend into a longitudinal slot I4 in the said slide bar for guiding the bracket on the said bar. A clamping screw I5 extends through the said base, the slot in the slide bar and through a slot I6 in the frame 5 and the said clamping screw has a wing nut I'I thereon for clamping the bracket I2 in adjusted position upon the slide bar I, and the said slide bar in adjusted position relatively to the frame 5.

In addition to the clamping screw I5, a clamping strap I8 is provided for adjustably clamping the slide bar to the frame. This strap I8 is secured to the front of the bar I, by means of screws I9, and has perpendicular end portions which carry clamping screws 2I that engage the opposite edges of the frame. An additional clamping strap 22 is provided at the opposite side of the frame 5 and clamps the said frame and slide bar I together by means of a clamping screw 23, which has a clamping nut 24, that extends through the slots I4 and I6 in said slide bar and frame.

The frame is provided, alon one side thereof, with graduations 25 which are numbered to correspond to the different lengths at which the gage may be used. The lower numbers indicate the length of the crutch when the extension bar I0 is removed and a rubber tip, similar to the tip Ill-a, is placed directly over the connecting member 9. The higher numbers indicate the length of the crutch when the extension bar [0 is used as shown in the drawings. The slide bar I carries, at the lower end thereof, an indicating pointer 26 which registers with the said graduations for indicating the length to which the regular crutch'is to be altered.

The slide bar I also carries, along one side thereof, a series of graduations 21 and the center of the bracket I2 registers with said graduations to indicate the correct distance at which the handle of the regular crutch is to be placed from the crosspiece 8.

In order to determine the correct theoretical position of the crutch handle, for the particular person being fitted, I provide a goniometer in combination with my improved crutch gage.

Such a goniometer includes an upper angle bar 28, that is pivotally and detachably secured at the pivotal point 29 by means of a stud having a securing nut 30 threaded thereto, and a lower angle bar 3| which is pivotally secured, at the point 32, by means of a nut 34 which is threaded toa stud that is carried at the end of an extension'33 on the'handle bracket I2.

The said angle bars 28 and 3! each has slidably mounted thereon an extension bar 35 and 36, respectively, which are adapted to be extended from said angle bars when required, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

Between the angle bars there is mounted a discshaped dial 31 which is secured to the goniometer by means of a clamping bolt 38 that extends through the longitudinal slots in the angle and extension bars and clamps the said bars and disc together in adjusted position. The said dial 3'! is secured to the angle bar 28 by means of a projection 39 which extends into the slot in said angle bar and prevents rotation of the dial. Graduations 40 are provided on the dial to denote angle and thereby indicate the angular relation between the two angle bars 28 and 3| and facilitate the adjusting of the goniometer for the required angles.

My improved crutch gage is used in the following manner when it is desired to determine the proper length of :a crutch and position of the crutch handle to fit a particular person:

Assuming that the crutch gage is being used for an adult and the extension bar is, therefore,

attached to the connecting member 9-, the sup- :porting bar 1 is moved vertically in the frame 5 to a position where the length of the crutch gage is considered correct for the person. The clamping screws 2i2l are then used to clamp the slide bar I in position. Any further adjustments may be made by simply loosening the screws .2l--2i, after the length of the crutch has been accurately determined, the clamping screw 23 and the wing nut 24 are tightened to firmly secure the slide bar I to the frame in adjusted position.

After the crutch gage has been adjusted for length, as above described, the goniometer is ad'- justed to determine the theoretically correct position of the crutch handle it for the person being fitted. This is first done by measuring the persons upper arm from the shoulder to the elbow and then setting the clamping screw 38 at .a corresponding distance from the pivotal point 29. The forearm is then measured from the elbow to the center-of the wrist and the screw .38 is placed at a corresponding distance from the pivotal point 32. Theangle bars 28 and 3| are then relatively adjusted at an angle of thirty degrees to each other, which has been determined to .be the angle of optimum functional relationship between the upper arm and forearIn-of a person while using a crutch. This adjustment is obtained by moving the .handle bracket 12 downwardly in .the slot M to thereby rotate the angle bar 3! on the pivot screw 38 until it registers with the graduations indicating the thirty degree angle, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. When the goniometer has been thus adjusted, the clamping nut I! is tightened .to thereby secure the handle in the position to which it has detached therefrom, by merely removing the securing nuts 30 and 34, and the crutch gage may be used as a regular crutch and minor adjustments may be made until it has been definitely determined that the most satisfactory length of crutch and position of handle has been found for the maximum comfort of the person being fitted. The most suitable dimensions for the crutch length and position of handle may then be readily obtained from reading the graduations 25 and 2'! and their related indicia, and a regular crutch is then altered to correspond to these dimBRSIOIIS.

It will be clearly understood from the foregoing description that my improved crutch gage provides novel means for accurately determining the correct position of the crutch handle, which has heretofore been very difficult to determine, and that the said position of the handle is obtained in accordance with a theoretical formula which is based upon the natural angular'relation between the upper arm and forearm of a person while using a crutch and which angle has been found to give the most comfort and efficiency in the use of crutches.

I claim:

v1. A crutch gage comprising an elongated frame, a slide bar longitudinally slidable .on said frame, a handle bracket longitudinally adjustable on the slide bar, a crosspiece carried on the upper end of the slide bar, and a goniometer for determining the correct theoretical position of said handle bracket; the said goniometerineluding a lower angle bar pivotally secured to and extending from the handle bracket, an upper angle bar pivotally secured at a point on the crosspiece and extending therefrom and angularly crosswise to the lower angle bar, and a dial secured to one of said angle bars and having indicia thereon for indicating the relative angle between said angle bars at which the goniometer is adjusted for determining the position of the handle.

vA crutch gage comprising an elongated frame, a slide bar slidable longitudinally in said frame, a handle bracket carried on said .slide bar and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a crosspiece carried upon the upper end of .the slide bar, means for clamping the slide bar to the frame in adjusted position, and a goniometer for determining the theoretically correct position of thehandle with relation to the crosspiecejthe said goniometer including a lower angle bar pivotally seciu-ed to the handle bracket and extending upwardly therefrom, .an upper angle bar pivctally secured ata point .on the crosspiece and extending downwardly therefrom, each of said angle bars having longitudinal .slots therein, a dial disc between said angle bars, a projection on said dial disc fitting into the slot of one of said bars for preventing rotation relatively thereto, a clamping .screw extending axially through the disc and through thes'lots insaid angle bars for clamping the said bars in adjusted position, and indic'ia .on the .disc .for indicating relative angles between thesaid angle bars.

'3. .A crutch gage comprising an elongated frame, .a slide bar longitudinally slidable on said frame, a crosspiece carried .upon the upper end of the slide bar, means for clamping the slide barto the frame .in adjusted position for varying the length of the crutch gage, .a handle bracket vertically adjustable on saidslide bar for varying the distance between the said bracket and the cr.osspiece,.a;handle on sa'id'bracket, and a goniometer for determining the accurate theoretical distance between the said crosspiece and handle; the said goniometer comprising a lower angle bar pivotally secured to and extending upwardly from the handle bracket, an upper angle bar pivotally secured at a point on and extending downwardly from the crosspiece, each of said angle bars including an extension bar slidable thereon and having aligned slots extending longitudinally through said angle bars and extension, a discshaped dial positioned between the said anglebars and having a projection slidably fitting within the slot in one of said angle bars, a clamping screw extending axially through the dial and the slots in the angle bars for clamping the said angle bars and disc together in adjusted position, and indicia upon said dial cooperating with one of said bars for indicating the required relative angle between the said angle bars to determine the proper distance of handle from the crosspiece, and means for clamping said handle in adjusted position.

4. A crutch gage comprising an elongated frame having a longitudinal groove in one side thereof, a slide bar longitudinally slidable in said groove, a crosspiece carried on the upper end of said slide bar, aligned slots extending longitudinally through the said slide bar and the portion of the frame forming the bottom of the groove, clamping means extending through said slots for adjustably securing the slide bar to the frame, a handle bracket carried on said slide bar and adjustable thereon, the said bracket having projections extending into the slot in the slide bar for guiding the bracket on the said slide bar, an extension on said bracket, and a goniometer for determining the correct theoretical distance between the crosspiece and the handle; the said goniometer including a lower angle bar pivotally secured to said extension and extending upwardly therefrom, an upper angle bar pivotally secured at a point on the crosspiece and extending therefrom crosswise to the lower angle bar, both of said angle bars including extensions longitudinally slidable thereon and having aligned slots extending through said angle bars and extensions, a disc-shaped dial member positioned between the said angle bars and having a projection thereon extending into the slot of one of the said angle bars for preventing rotation of the said dial member relative thereto, a clamping screw extending through the said slots and dial member for securing the said angle bars and disc together in relatively adjusted positions, indicia on said dial member registering with the other angle bar for indicating relative angles between the said angle bars for which they are adjusted to determine the proper distance of the handle from the crosspiece, and means for securing the handle bracket in adjusted position, the said securing means comprising a clamping screw extending through the said handle bracket and the slots in the said slide bar and frame and being adapted to secure the handle bracket, the slide bar and the frame together in adjusted position.

LUCIAN J. ZADROZNY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 39,854 Wemple Sept. 8, 1863 725,612 Calentine Apr. 14, 1903 885,339 Hargrove Apr. 21, 1908 1,262,153 Wolf Apr. 9, 1918 2,474,722 Blame June 28, 1949 2,528,706 Osborn Nov. 7, 1950 

